Tube cleaner



Patented Oct. 12, 1937 2,095,725

NITED STATES `MT1-:NT'OFFICE TUBE CLEANER.

. Wilfred Whealy, Hobart, Ind., assignor' to Standard Oil Company,JCllxlcago, Ill., a corporation of Indiana I Application July 12, 19341,serian No.'134,817

3 claims. (ci. 151o4.13)

This invention relates to improvements in tube tire diameter of the tubethereby to provide equal cleaners and more particularly to tube cleanerscutting action throughout the entire cross-section of the rotary cuttertype. o the accumulated deposit to be removed. l Prior to my inventionvarious types of tube Other objects, the advantages, and uses of `thecleaners employing driven cutters have been used invention will'beapparent after reading the folfor cleaning the bore of the metal tubingused lowing description and claims and after conin tubes of pipe stills,boiler tubes and similar sideration of the drawing forming a part ofthis apparatus thereby to remove accumulations of specification wherein,carbon and other solid deposits from the inner Fig. 1 is a. sideelevation of a tube cleaner l0 tube walls. It is important in the`cleaning of constructed in accordance with the invention; 10 tubes andpipes in such apparatus as employed in Fig. 2 is a. sectional View ofthe cutting head the refining of petroleum that the cleaning operof thecleaner as it appears during Athe cleaning ation be conducted in asshort a time as possible operation; thereby to provide a minimuminterruption` or Fig. 3 is a side elevation of another form oftheshut-down of the processes for which the appatube cleaner; and 4 l5ratus is employed. Fig. 4 is a view similar to Fig. 2 of another form Ofthe various types of tube cleanersavailable of the cutting head. for usethe. cutters are in most instances located With reference to Figs, 1 and2, I have selected upon an axis or axes parallel to the axis o-f the forillustration therein a tube cleaner comprising 2o tube to be cleaned.This arrangement is not in general a pair of hollow hemisphericalcutters 20 objectionable where the deposit of carbon or solid ,f 2 and 3mounted upon the respective outer ends material is relatively thin butin such cases as of opposed shafts 6 which areA inclined slightly,encountered in the majority of tube cleaning opforward to a planeperpendicular to the 1ongitu erations in thepetroleum industry thecarbon or dinal axis of the cleaner and therefore to the solid depositwithin th'e tubes is relatively thick axis of the tube t to be cleaned.Each hollow 25 and sometimes all but completely closes the tubehemispherical cutter is mounted on its respecor pipe. Under such acondition theV conventive shaft 6 for rotation about an axisperpentional type of tube cleaner employing cutters dicular to the planeof the hemisphere. The cutupon axes parallel to the tube'are v vhollyinadeters 2 and 3 may be driven through the medium of quate to performthe tube cleaning operation a transmission comprising la pair of bevelgears 30 within a reasonable time due principally to the 5, one upon theinner end of each of the cutter fact that the central portion of thecutter ro shafts G which gears mesh with a bevel drive gear tates atsuch a low circular velocity that the cutcarried 1113011 the Outer end0f the drive Shaft ting away of the deposit at the central portion of tof an air motor 9 of conventional structure.

the tube is necessarily slow and hence the advance The transmission thusdescribed may be housed 35 of the cutter along the tube is retarded evenwithin afsealed hollow spherical housing Il lothough the rim speed ofthe cutter adjacent to the cated Within the opposed hemisphericalcutters inner walls of the tube is suiciently high to proas illustratedin Fig. 2. The interior of the hous- 4vide for a reasonable cuttingspeed. Upon many` ing may be filled with a suitable lubricant. I

40 occasions, under the conditions described, the reprefer to make thehousing Il of two parts with 40 tarding of the advance movement of thecutter a suitable gasket l2 therebetween in order to fa,- along the tubeaxis results in serious scoring and cilitate the introduction andassembly 0f the cutabuse to the tube walls. ters and drive' gearstherein. The innermost sec- It is therefore an object of my invention totOn I3 0f the housing H may be formed integralprovide an improved tubecleaner which may be ly with the tubular bearing and support I 4 for 45advanced through a tube to be cleaned, wherein the drive shaft 8 andconnected, as by a bushing the tube is completely, or nearly, closed bycarbon l5. With the hOllSirlg 0f the air mOtGr 9 as shown'. or othersimilar deposits upon the inner wall If desired, an apron I 6 tosurround and protect thereof, at a speed approximating that at `whichthe rearward portion of the hemispherical cut- I' '50 the cutter may beadvanced in a tube which has ters and 3 may be located concentric withthe 50 a relatively thin deposit upon the inner wall. tubular portionllt of the housing and secured A further object is to provide a tubecleaner of thereto by a lock nut Ilia. The apron i6 prethe characterdescribed wherein maximum pevents the stream of air passing through theopen-v ripheral speed of the cutting vedges of the rotary ings I91of theair motor 9 (hereinafter described) cutters thereof is maintainedthroughout the enfrom forcing coke ,and other solid material into 55 thespace between the forward edges of the cutters 2 and 3, The apron I6also functions to deect the current of air from the openings I9 of theair motor 9 toward the inner wall of the tube 4.being cleaned and aroundthe cuttersI 2 and 3 thereby blowing the loose coke toward the for- Wardend of the tube. The cutters 2 and 3 may have conventional cuttingblades as indicated at Il, extending radially from the axis of thecutter shafts 6 to the periphery of the cutters.

In operation the entire cutter and motor as sembly may be introducedinto the tube t0 be cleaned as indicated in Fig. 1 and manually advancedalong the axis of the tube. 'I'he arrangementof the' cutters 2 and '3,as will be apparent, are such as to provide maximum peripheral speed ofthe cuttingblades at the central portion of the tube, and therefore witha. coke or carboni deposit, such as indicated at I8, upon the tube wall,the action of the cutters will have maximum cutting efficiency, not onlyat the portions of the tube section adjacent to the inner walls thereof,but also at the approximate center of the tube. Thus, the cutting awayof the deposit throughout the entire tube section is uniform and theadvance of the tube cleaner accompanied by the manual rotation of theentire cleaner assembly about its longitudinal axis will result in thecutting away and removal of the deposit in a minimum of time per linearunit of tube. It is contemplated, as in the case of the conventionaltype of tube cleaner, that the exhaust air from the air motor 9discharged through the exhaust openings l 9 of the'motor will add in thescavenging of the particles of the removed deposit through that sectionof the tube forwardly of the cutter thereby to maintain the motor freeof contact with the hard material of the deposit.

In Fig. 3 I have illustrated another form `of the cleaner assemblywherein the cutting head is constructed precisely in the same manner asindicated in Fig. 2 but is connectedwith the air motor 9 through a longexible drive shaft 2l which may be enclosed in a conventional flexibletorque tube 2|a. The advantage of this arrangement is that the motor 9need not enter the tube during the cleaning operation and therefore thepossibility of damage to the motor by the introduction of hardcarbonaceous material into the moving parts of the motor or bearings isprecluded. As above described the entire cleaning unit may be manuallyrotated.

In Fig. 4 I have illustrated another form of the cutter head wherein asingle hemispherical cutter 22 is employed and mounted upon a.' shaft 23extending at an angle of substantially 33 from the longitudinal axis ofthe tube-cleaner and of the tube. The driving connection between thecutter shaft 23 and the shaft 8 of the air motor 9 may comprise auniversal drive 2d located within a closed housing 25 fllled'with a.suitable lubricant. The cutter of Fig. 4 possesses the advantages ofthat described in connection with the cutter head of Fig. 2 and inaddition the advantage of utmost simplicity of construction and lowcost. 'I'his modification has theadditional advantage in that themaximum peripheral speed of the cutting edges of the cutter is not onlyat the central portion of the tube as in the case of the cutting edgefirst described but is also at the inner wall of the tube. The tubecleaning unit thus described is manually rotated within the tube duringthe cleaning operation to remove all of the carbon or solid deposittherein as above mentioned. v r

Although I have described my .invention in terms of certain specicembodiments thereof,

thereof, one of said journals adapted to receive a,

drive shaft longitudinally disposed Within said tube, a secondof'said'journals receiving a second `shaft disposed at an angle to said4drive shaft greater than a right angle, a hollow hemispherical memberembracing said spherical housing and n iounted on the outer end of saidsecond named shaft for rotation-about an axis perpendicular to` theplane of said hemisphere, cutting blades formed onKthe outer peripheryof vsaid hemispherical member andy extending radially from the axis of.rotation thereof, and means connecting said second named shaft with saiddrive shaft operating within said spherical housing in contact with saidlubricant.

' 2. In a tube cleaner, a cutter assembly to be introduced in a pipe forcoring out the same, comprising a hollow spherical gear housingprovided. Y

with a first. `iournal for receiving a drive shaft transverse to thelongitudinal axis of a tube to be cored out and having a beveled gear onthe inner end thereof within said housing, said housing being furtherprovided with two opposed journals each having a shaft therein and eachprovided with a beveled gear within said housing and positioned for,driving relation with said rst named beveled gear on said drive shaft,and a pair of hollow hemispherical members having their hollow portionsfacing each other and embracing said housing and being supported on theouter ends of said last two named shafts for rotation about an axisperpendicular to the plane of the hemisphere, said hollow hemsphericalmembers each 'being further provided with cutting edges thereondiverging radially from the axis of` rotation, each of said last twonamed shafts being positioned at an angle relative to said driving shaftwhich is slightly greater than a right angle whereby the planes dened,by the opposed faces of said hemispherical cutters converge at a pointslightly beyond the forward portion of said assembly.

3. The structure as defined in claim 2 wherein the said housing isprovided with an extension of said journal carrying said driveshaft;said extension being wedge shaped to t within the diverging faces oftherear portion of said cutters, and being further characterized by theprovision of a saucer shaped apron thereon partially embrac i'ng therear portion of said cutter assembly, .whereby to assist in preventingthe entrance of loose material within said cutter assembly.

- WILFRED WBZEALY.

